HALIFAX -- Voters in Nova Scotia dumped the NDP and their leader Tuesday after giving Darrell Dexter a historic election victory four years ago, turning this time to Liberal Stephen McNeil, who swept to power on promises to bring soaring electricity rates under control while putting an end to corporate handouts.

It was a dog’s breakfast of a file — with the singular feature, almost unheard of in a sexual assault complaint, of an independent witness — that led police and prosecutors to conclude they couldn’t charge anyone in the Rehtaeh Parsons case.

OTTAWA — The federal government wants to expedite a review of “gaps” in the Criminal Code and introduce legislative reforms to address cyber-bullying, as the grieving parents of Rehtaeh Parsons told the prime minister Tuesday they felt “helpless” to save their daughter.

HALIFAX — As the spread in gasoline prices across Canada hits a 10-year high, a number of Canadian premiers are throwing their support behind building a truly national oil pipeline network and getting cheaper domestic oilsands crude flowing east.

OTTAWA — Canada’s 13 premiers convene in Halifax this week for a key meeting on the state of the national and global economies — a gathering they say should have included Prime Minister Stephen Harper.